Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

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Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

Post by storewanderer »

https://www.kptv.com/news/still-seeing- ... 3fb56.html

Interesting article. Paper shortage on paper bags so stores are being allowed to use thin bags if they can't get paper bags. But the ban on plastic bags is still in effect.

Previous guidance in OR earlier this year was that the ban should not be enforced due to COVID but it was not being lifted either.
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Re: Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

Post by Alpha8472 »

I was at a Walmart in the San Francisco Bay Area and the entire store had run out of super thick plastic bags. The store did have tons of thin plastic bags. There is apparently no shortage of thin bags and the store probably had tons lying around in the back ready at a moment's notice.

If stores neglect to order enough paper bags, then they would end up saving tons of money by using thin plastic bags. Perhaps stores will simply not order any paper bags because they know that thin bags will save them money in the long run.
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Re: Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

Post by storewanderer »

If cost on paper bag is 10 cents (probably higher now due to shortages) and OR has the store charge 5 cents (store can charge more if they want), but the thin plastic bag has cost of 1 cent, theoretically the store is better off providing the free thin bags.

I went to a NorCal Safeway that was charging 10 cents for the thin bags recently. Nice mark up there. No other location I've seen charge for those.

Trader Joe's allows reusable bags in store again. They also have plastic bags now due to the paper bag shortage and their paper bags no longer have handles. Supposedly Trader Joe's is not letting customers bag themselves because it sounds like they do not want people getting too close to the cashier to bag their own items? I don't get it.

From

~ttps://www.reddit.com/r/tjcrew/comments/j8fyw2 ... able_bags/
"Now imagine a customer sneezing or coughing in their vehicle, picking their nose, or sloppily eating a taco and licking their fingers, then grabbing their bags to shop at Trader Joe's without sanitizing, washing, or putting on gloves before doing so. Does the movement of opening, packing, and lifting bags not just shake off dust, debris, animal hair, etc. but also Covid that has been lying on its surface? Infection via the eyes can also happen."

"Customers bags were filthy before covid , I literally had a bag with actual poop in it ( the customer looked at me like I was the weird one for being pissed). Seriously, this is just asking for trouble ."

"Our store policy has just been changed as well. We must use customers' skank bags. I just do the opposite. I tell customer they can bag into their bags right there on the counter. Fuck it. Don't care. "
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Re: Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

Post by veteran+ »

So what exactly is your point?

Most people are literally pigs.

CURRENTLY no matter what we do, the environment is going to suffer (plastic no matter what thickness, reusable, paper).

I just don't get the preoccupation with this.

The RIGHT thing is not gonna happen because it is always about profit and then cost.
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Re: Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

Post by storewanderer »

Implementation of plastic bag ban in Oregon which went into effect in January 2020 is... interesting. Enforcement was suggested to be stopped due to COVID last year and it seems the entire bag ban was simply un-done at many OR retailers. The "League of Oregon Cities" has set out guidance back in February 2021 that demands retailers "IMMEDIATELY" begin to follow the bag ban, impose the bag fee on customers regardless of what bag is being supplied, etc. Problem is enforcement power rests with cities in Oregon regarding this bag ban. So theoretically if a city opts to enforce it or does not opt to enforce it basically dictates what will happen unless a retailer complies on their own.

Maybe the cities I went to simply don't care about this bag ban at all and aren't having it enforced. I was in and out of many stores and aside from New Seasons, can count on one hand the number of customers I saw using reusable bags.

So far the only major retailer in OR who seems to be following this is Albertsons/Safeway. Albertsons/Safeway has OR-compliant 4-thickness super thick plastic bags at a 5 cent fee (which may or may not be charged if you go to a regular cashier... however there is a fee prompt on self checkout so you will get charged there). These bags are about 2 times thicker than a California-compliant bag which requires 2.25-thickness and weigh in at 42 grams (compared to the old thin bags that weigh 4 grams). So you need to use over 10 thin bags to use the amount of plastic it takes to make one OR-compliant super thick plastic bag. I am sure Albertsons/Safeway is losing money selling the customer these bags at 5 cents given the cost of the CA-compliant bags is very close to 10 cents, these I assume cost more than that since they are thicker... I purchased a bag every time even for small transactions.

Also New Seasons has only paper bags (probably only ever had paper bags) and charged a bag fee so I guess they are following these rules too.

Fred Meyer has thin bags and a fee prompt at self checkout but I was told there is no fee for thin bags at this time and the clerk pressed the "no bags" option to bypass the fee prompt. Also at the regular cashier at two different stores the thin bags were automatically used and no fee assessed by the cashier. Most locations had Fred Meyer branded bags but some locations had plain white bags with no printing/store name. Also noticed Fred Meyer had a lot of reusable bags for sale at 2 for $1 (not branded Fred Meyer). Seemed to be a large supply at many locations. These are very low quality reusable bags that probably won't last more than 10 trips (you may as well pay the 5 cent bag fee 10 times).

Rite Aid was still using thin bags and nothing about any bag fee at least at the one store I went into. Given how little inventory Rite Aid has, they probably don't even need to offer bags of any kind. But anyway that is off topic. Same for Wal Mart and Walgreens - still thin bags (multiple locations), nothing about any fees. One Walgreens had some paper bags sitting around though, along with the thin ones.

Various independent stores I went into were still using thin bags and no fee was assessed.
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Re: Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

Post by joseph80 »

Sorry for bumping into an old conversation, but I wanted to share my two cents. Switching to using paper bags instead of plastic ones is not only environmentally responsible but also quite practical. Many stores and brands have successfully made the transition.
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Re: Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

Post by storewanderer »

joseph80 wrote: October 13th, 2023, 4:34 am Sorry for bumping into an old conversation, but I wanted to share my two cents. Switching to using paper bags instead of plastic ones is not only environmentally responsible but also quite practical. Many stores and brands have successfully made the transition.
And what about the stores that switched to super thick plastic bags as a result of these laws and don't offer paper bags at all?

Sprouts is one such chain.

In OR I've dealt with Target, Safeway, Walgreens, and Rite Aid and they have NO standard grocery order size paper bags (Rite Aid has some small lunch sack type ones). They only have super thick plastic bags. Worse in OR the super thick plastic bag is more than twice as thick as a CA super thick plastic bag. It is the equivalent of like 15 thin plastic bags. For just a 5 cent fee.

But you are right Whole Foods made this transition many years ago with no problem. And no bag fee either (unless it is mandated). Trader Joe's- yes before COVID, since COVID, not so much- I keep getting super thick plastic bags there lately.
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Re: Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

Post by ClownLoach »

storewanderer wrote: October 13th, 2023, 10:22 pm
joseph80 wrote: October 13th, 2023, 4:34 am Sorry for bumping into an old conversation, but I wanted to share my two cents. Switching to using paper bags instead of plastic ones is not only environmentally responsible but also quite practical. Many stores and brands have successfully made the transition.
And what about the stores that switched to super thick plastic bags as a result of these laws and don't offer paper bags at all?

Sprouts is one such chain.

In OR I've dealt with Target, Safeway, Walgreens, and Rite Aid and they have NO standard grocery order size paper bags (Rite Aid has some small lunch sack type ones). They only have super thick plastic bags. Worse in OR the super thick plastic bag is more than twice as thick as a CA super thick plastic bag. It is the equivalent of like 15 thin plastic bags. For just a 5 cent fee.

But you are right Whole Foods made this transition many years ago with no problem. And no bag fee either (unless it is mandated). Trader Joe's- yes before COVID, since COVID, not so much- I keep getting super thick plastic bags there lately.
I have never seen anything but paper handle bags at Trader Joe's for decades, even before the CA bag ban. They also have a tendency to charge for one bag but give three or four, especially when they decide to double bag. Really shocked TJ has any plastic bags.
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Re: Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

Post by BillyGr »

ClownLoach wrote: October 15th, 2023, 9:25 am
storewanderer wrote: October 13th, 2023, 10:22 pm But you are right Whole Foods made this transition many years ago with no problem. And no bag fee either (unless it is mandated). Trader Joe's- yes before COVID, since COVID, not so much- I keep getting super thick plastic bags there lately.
I have never seen anything but paper handle bags at Trader Joe's for decades, even before the CA bag ban. They also have a tendency to charge for one bag but give three or four, especially when they decide to double bag. Really shocked TJ has any plastic bags.
I never saw anything but paper here in NY either, and that was from the time they opened (many years prior to any law about plastic vs. paper).

Figured maybe that was something in their branding, since they often have many items that are organic or similar, so trying to keep to more "natural" with paper bags as well?
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Re: Oregon Plastic Bag Ban lifted if stores run out of paper bags

Post by storewanderer »

BillyGr wrote: October 15th, 2023, 11:05 am
ClownLoach wrote: October 15th, 2023, 9:25 am
storewanderer wrote: October 13th, 2023, 10:22 pm But you are right Whole Foods made this transition many years ago with no problem. And no bag fee either (unless it is mandated). Trader Joe's- yes before COVID, since COVID, not so much- I keep getting super thick plastic bags there lately.
I have never seen anything but paper handle bags at Trader Joe's for decades, even before the CA bag ban. They also have a tendency to charge for one bag but give three or four, especially when they decide to double bag. Really shocked TJ has any plastic bags.
I never saw anything but paper here in NY either, and that was from the time they opened (many years prior to any law about plastic vs. paper).

Figured maybe that was something in their branding, since they often have many items that are organic or similar, so trying to keep to more "natural" with paper bags as well?
Just yesterday in Reno they were dispensing out super thick plastic bags. These bags are Made in Germany.

They only had paper bags on a couple of registers, in limited supply.

My observation has been they typically bring out these super thick plastic bags when their supply of paper bags is running low.
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